


The Sphinx

by TrivialPursuit



Series: Triviaglass Avengers 'Verse [10]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Slavic Mythology & Folklore
Genre: Black Widow - Freeform, Gen, Russia, Soviet Union, The Black Widow Program, The Red Room, fairy tale, gulag, russian folk tale, wonder tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:39:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9999548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrivialPursuit/pseuds/TrivialPursuit
Summary: The stories Natasha tells her son all begin the same.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Not at all necessary to have read the other works in the Triviaglass series to understand or enjoy this, the story is mostly just included for aesthetic reasons.
> 
> This was inspired by Varlam Shalamov's work Kolyma Tales and Aleksandr Afanasyev's collection Russian Fairy Tales.

The stories Natasha tells her son all begin the same: 'In a certain land in a certain state, a long time ago, there lived a little girl, about the age that you are now–'

('My exact age?' Roman would interject, first with childish glee, then with bored sarcasm, then with a sort of steady affection)

'–or perhaps a little older. She had hair like the feathers of the firebird and skin like freshly fallen snow. She lived in a red castle with her twenty-seven sisters, each of whom had a different mother and of whom she was the youngest. One day, the girls' father, Tsar Anton Ivanovich, gathered all his daughters before him, clasping his hands together and staring sadly from his throne.

' "There is a man who wishes to do our state harm. I have sent every soldier and they have not come back. As a test of your love for me I will send you, my daughters. Whoever kills this man and brings me back his head will become the Queen of the Spiders, and inherit my kingdom upon my death."

' "I will do it Father, I will not fail you," the eldest, Vasilisa said.

' "I will do it Father, I will not fail you," the eldest but one, Marya said.

' "I will do it Father, I will not fail you," the eldest but two, Olga said.

'And so the sisters went down the line, each promising not to fail until only the youngest remained. She tilted her head and stuck her chin out, looking every bit as imposing as her father, the tsar. "I will do it Father, I will succeed where they will fail."

'And so the tsar sent all his daughters out, far across the kingdom to the land of Magadan, a place so cold that the girls' eyelashes froze together and their blood turned to ice. The girls had never been so cold in their lives, and though they were from a cold country, this land of Magadan was unlike anything they had previously experienced.

Vasilisa died on the third day, because the youngest but two, a girl named Fedora, had dragged her out into the snow while Vasilisa slept and she froze to death. And no matter how much the sisters wept and prayed to the Mother for the water of death and the water of life from the thrice tenth kingdom to restore their sister to them, Vasilisa remained dead and the sisters' tears froze on their cheeks.

'Marya died on the sixth day, a miner's axe driven through her chest by Fedora, who loved power more than her sisters. And no matter how much the sisters wept and prayed to the Mother for the water of death and the water of life from the thrice tenth kingdom to restore their sister to them, Marya remained dead and the sisters' tears froze on their cheeks.

'Olga died on the ninth day, strangled with a thick leather belt by Fedora, who wanted nothing more than to be the Queen of the Spiders. And no matter how much the sisters wept and prayed to the Mother for the water of death and the water of life from the thrice tenth kingdom to restore their sister to them, Olga remained dead and the sisters' tears froze on their cheeks.

'And such was the fate of all of the sisters, until only remained, Fedora, and the two youngest, Yelena and Natalia. Natalia, who was a resourceful girl, went to the Tsar of Magadan and asked for the location of the man their father had sent them to hunt. The Tsar of Magadan smiled when the sisters approached and welcomed them into his castle with open arms. His castle was unlike the one they had grown up in, with walls made of boards and sailcloth rather than stone, and the sisters marvelled that it could protect him from the spark of fire.

' "I will tell you where this man is, if you give me one of your sisters." The choice was easy, because Fedora had already killed Natalia's sisters and would probably kill Natalia soon. And so the Tsar of Magadan took Fedora for his own and sent Natalia and Yelena in a carriage built of steel to Kolyma.

'The Prince of Kolyma smiled when the sisters approached and welcomed them into his castle with open arms. His castle was unlike the one they had grown up in, with walls made of wire and boards rather than stone, and the sisters marvelled that it could protect him from the terrors of the night.

' "I will tell you where this man is, if you give me your sister." The choice was easy, because Natalia loved her sister but she loved her father more, and if Natalia did not give the Prince Yelena, Yelena would give the Prince Natalia. And so the Prince of Kolyma took Yelena for his own and sent Natalia along a muddy road to a long, low hut filled with many men.

' "I am looking for the Count of Work Gang Fifteen!" Natalia announced, and the men in the room parted to reveal a man standing next to a pot of broth, stirring it with a scrap of rusted metal.

' "I will give you what you want, if you give me yourself in exchange." The choice was easy, because Natalia loved her father. And so she smiled at the Count of Work Gany Fifteen and pushed him into the pot of boiling soup, holding his head under until her hands turned red and the skin blistered and bubbled. When the Count was dead Natalia cut off his head with the bit of rusty metal he had been using to stir to pot and left.'

 

_Russia is a Sphinx. Grieving, jubilant,_

_and covering herself with blood_

_she looks, she looks, she looks at you–her slant_

_eyes lit with hatred and with love._

Aleksandr Blok, "The Scythians"

**Author's Note:**

> [ Let's burn together](https://myladydisdainareyouyetliving.tumblr.com)


End file.
